Saturday, January 31, 2015

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator
George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere
in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Cahaba is being restored – Why
not Claiborne?,” was originally published in the Oct. 7, 1993 edition of The
Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

Tuesday, the 28th of September, I ventured forth and visited
the old town of Cahaba. I had received through the mail a pamphlet telling
about Archeaology Week at Cahaba and the guided tours of the old capital.

Eager to see all that I could in the one day that I was
going to be at Cahaba, I set out at an early hour to cover the 88 miles that
lay between.

As I proceeded toward Cahaba and the tours that awaited me
there on the banks of the Alabama and Cahaba rivers, I began to compare the two
old, early Alabama towns. With my interest in history, I certainly knew that
the old town of Claiborne, here within our county, had almost been selected for
the capital when it was moved from Cahaba to the town of Tuscaloosa.

Descending the long hill that leads down to the old town
site and the river bank, I was amazed to see the progress that had been made
since my last visit less than two years ago.

There, before my eyes, was an attractive visitors’ center.
This center had once been a home here in Cahaba. In the late 1800s, it had been
removed from its location here by the river and transported to Selma. Within
the past two years, the historical commission had been successful in getting
the house returned back to its original setting.

While I stared in amazement at the old building, I thought
of the visitors’ center at the old historical town of Claiborne. I couldn’t
remember a visitors’ center being there; in fact, I couldn’t remember anything being
there that might entice a visitor to stop and step back in history for a look
at yesterday. If I remembered correctly, Claiborne had a much larger population
than the capital of Cahaba. In fact, over 2,000 more.

Upon entering the visitors’ center, I was met by a very
knowledgeable guide of the area. I was given pamphlets about that which I was
about to see on the upcoming tour. I was asked to sign the visitor register. As
I quickly glanced over some of the names and places of those listed there, I saw
names from such places as Germany, Spain and several cities within the United
States – places from which these tourists had to travel a considerable distance
to get here.

I shuddered to think about a tourist from Germany trying to
find a tourist information center around our Claiborne town.

The area I was about to tour had been our state’s capital
from 1820 to 1826. It had also been a thriving antebellum town. During the
later days of the Civil War, the old town of Cahaba was to become a filthy and
lice-infested prison for over 3,000 captured Union soldiers.

These prisoners were held in a small, cramped area not much
larger than a small four-room house. Many held here would never leave the
dirty, filthy prison alive. Their final resting places continue to this day to
be a mystery; no one knows for sure just where they are buried.

In 1865, a flood of the Alabama and Cahaba rivers would have
a devastating effect on this town located here where the rivers join. In 1866,
the county seat was moved to Selma.

In less than 10 years, almost all of the houses had been
dismantled and moved. Those that were not dismantled and moved fell to the
torch and decay. Just as the town of Claiborne did, Cahaba was slowly slipping
into oblivion.

The abandoned courthouse became a meeting place for freed
slaves who were seeking new political power. Cahaba became the “Mecca of the
Radical…

[Editor’s Note: At this point in the Oct. 7, 1993 edition
of The Monroe Journal, Singleton’s column appears to end on the same page it
began on. There’s no “jump line” telling readers where to turn next for the
remaining portion of Singleton’s column. However, if you continue looking
through the paper, you’ll find it several pages later, but, as you’ll see below, a portion of the column
appears to be missing as it seems to pick up in the wrong place. What follows
is the rest of Singleton’s column as it appears on the “jump page.”]

…partly uncovered a portion of a heavy rock wall that some
believe surrounded three sides of the large ancient village. There are those who
believe that perhaps this early site might even be the ruins of Maubila.

Much is being done to excavate and restore the history of our
state’s first capital. There is much to be seen here on the banks of the two
rivers. I have never understood why we sit idle and twiddle our thumbs while
the historic locations within our county slowly disappear from the scene.

Tourist dollars

With very little effort, we too could have tourists from
Germany, Spain and many other places throughout the world flocking to Monroe
County. Each would bring tourist dollars that would be spent on guided tours of
the many historic locations within our boundaries.

It has been estimated that over 90 cents of every tourist
dollar remains within the area where it is spent. We are sleeping through a
critical time pertaining to the restoration of our historical locations. These
are just as much of historical importance as any other within our state.

So, sleep on Monroe County; the time is fast approaching when
our few historic locations that remain will have disappeared into oblivion. And
as we sink deeper into our world of fantasy and make believe, the ghosts from
the past cry out and beg to be remembered.

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and
Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime
resident of Monroeville, he was born on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County and
served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from 1964 to
1987. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and
all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the
microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville.
Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship
purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)

Jan. 31, 1606 - Guy Fawkes was executed after being
convicted for his role in the "Gunpowder Plot" against the English
Parliament and King James I.

Jan. 31, 1752 - Patriot Gouverneur Morris was born in New
York City, New York. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787 he represented
Pennsylvania. He served as an ambassador to France from 1792-1794 and was a
senator from New York from 1800-1803.

Jan. 31, 1865 - General Robert E. Lee was named
general-in-chief of the Confederate armies.

Jan. 31, 1865 - The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
which abolished slavery in the United States, was passed by the U.S. House of
Representatives and it was submitted to the states for ratification. It was
ratified by the necessary number of states on Dec. 6, 1865. The amendment
abolished slavery in the United States.

Jan. 31, 1872 – Western writer Zane Grey was born in
Zanesville, Ohio. He is best known for his novel, “Riders of the Purple Sage,”
which was published in 1912.

Jan. 31, 1876 - All Native American Indians were ordered to
move into reservations.

Jan. 31, 1893 - The trademark "Coca-Cola" was
first registered in the United States Patent Office.

Jan. 31, 1902 - Tallulah Bankhead, star of stage, screen,
and radio in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, was born in Huntsville, Ala. The
daughter of U.S.Congressman William B. Bankhead, Tallulah was most famous for
her flamboyant lifestyle, throaty voice, and stage role in “The Little Foxes” (1939) and her part in
the film “Lifeboat” (1943). (There
is some question of the exact birthdate; this is the most generally accepted.)

Jan. 31, 1912 – The home of J.S. Daw near Hampden Ridge, Ala. was
destroyed by fire.

Jan. 31, 1914 – This day, a Saturday, was the deadline to
pay poll taxes in Conecuh County, Ala. because Feb. 1 fell on a Sunday.

Jan. 31, 1919 – Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman Jackie
Robinson was born in Cairo, Ga. He played his entire Major League career
(1947-1956) with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Jan. 31, 1931 – Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop and first
baseman Ernie Banks was born in Dallas, Texas. He played his entire Major
League career (1953-1971) with the Chicago Cubs.

Jan. 31, 1939 – The GA-ANA Theatre was first opened in
Georgiana, Ala. by Fred McClendon.

Jan. 31, 1945 – U.S. Army private Eddie Slovik of Detroit,
Mich. was executed for desertion, the first such execution of an American soldier
since the Civil War.

Jan. 31, 1947 – Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan was
born in Refugio, Texas and raised in Alvin, southeast of Houston. He would go
on to play for the N.Y. Mets, the California Angels, the Houston Astros and the
Texas Rangers.

Jan. 31, 1959 – Members of the Dyatlov Expedition arrived at
the edge of a highland area and began to prepare for climbing. In a wooded
valley, they cached surplus food and equipment that would be used for the trip
back.

Jan. 31, 1968 – As part of the Tet Offensive, a squad of
Viet Cong guerillas attacked the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, and Marine Cpl. James
Conrad Marshall of Monroeville, a 1964 graduate of Monroe County High School,
died defending the embassy. The guerillas managed to seize the embassy and held
it for six hours until an assault force of U.S. paratroopers landed by
helicopter on the building’s roof and routed the Viet Cong. Marshall Hall, the
Marine Corps Security Guard training center at Quantico, Va. was later named in
James Marshall’s honor.

Jan. 31, 1999 – Former Major League first baseman Norm
Zauchin passed away in Birmingham, Ala. at the age of 69. He started his
professional career in 1950 with the Double-A Birmingham Barons, where he set a
Rickwood Field field record with 35 home runs. He went on to play for the
Boston Red Sox and the Washington Senators.

Jan. 31, 2003 - The Chicago White Sox announced a deal that
would change the name of Comiskey Park after a 93-year association with the
Comiskey name.

Jan. 31, 2005 – Hillcrest High School retired the basketball
jersey of player Chris “C.J.” Riley, who died over the Christmas holidays.

Jan. 31, 2013 – Major League Baseball first baseman Fred
Whitfield, a native of Vandiver, Ala., passed away at the age of 75 in Gadsden
due to complications from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He played pro baseball from
1962 to 1970 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cleveland Indians, the Cincinnati
Reds and the Montreal Expos.

Friday, January 30, 2015

I continued my (virtual) “Walk to Mordor” earlier this week
by logging 11 more miles since my last update. I walked/jogged three miles on
Saturday, three miles on Wednesday and five more today (Friday). So far, I’ve
logged 53 total miles on this virtual trip to Mount Doom, and I’ve got 1,746
more miles to go before I reach Mordor.

In relation to Frodo’s journey, I’m still only on the third
day of his trip. I left off last week where the elves first appeared in the
story and the Black Rider pursing Frodo and his friends left. Frodo, Sam and
Pippin then continued on with the elves. The woods here grew more dense and the
lane went lower, running in a fold of hills, with hazel on the slopes alongside.
Around Mile 44, Pippin quickly becomes sleepy.

At Mile 45, Frodo’s group turns right off the path on “a
green ride” through a thicket. At Mile 46, the group camped at a place called
Woody End, a green floor in the wood, roofed by boughs of trees. To the east, a
steep shoulder falls, and the group can overlook the river valley. It’s around
11 p.m. on the second day, which is Sept. 24, on the Middle Earth calendar, and
you can see the lights of the village of Woodhall below.

Day 3 (Sept. 25) begins with Frodo’s group sleeping in, and
they don’t leave Woody End until around 11 a.m. Frodo decides to cut southeast
to Buckleberry Ferry. They scramble down the hill and into the thick trees
below. Around that time, the sky begins to cloud up.

At Mile 47, a deep-banked stream below the hill cuts across
the path. When Frodo and his friends look back, they see the Black Rider at the
top of the hill where they’d camped. To escape, they force their way through
the bushes alongside the stream.

At Mile 48, Pippin realizes the stream is the Stock-brook,
and the banks are low enough at this point for them to cross. They find the
land on the south bank to be wet and reedy. Two miles later, around Mile 50,
they reach a belt of trees, mostly oaks with a few elms and ash. Also around
that time, drops of rain begin to fall.

Another two miles later, around Mile 52, Pippin realizes
the group has turned too far south because they’re still in the trees. Around
Mile 54, they’re still in the trees and stop for lunch around 2 p.m., but so
far in my virtual journey, I’m still about a mile away from lunch on Day 3.

For those of you reading this for the first time, I began
this “Walk to Mordor” fitness challenge on Jan. 1. Using a book called “The
Atlas of Middle-Earth” by Karen Wynn Fonstad, fans of “The Lord of the Rings”
created this challenge by mapping out Frodo’s fictional trek to Mordor,
calculating the total distance at 1,799 miles. They also used the original
"Lord of the Rings" text to outline the journey, so you can follow
their route by keeping up with your total mileage.

Those who worked out the nuts and bolts of this virtual
journey have divided it into four parts. It’s 458 miles from Hobbiton to
Rivendell, 462 miles from Rivendell through Moria to Lothlorien, 389 miles from
Lothlorien down the Anduin to Rauros Falls and 470 miles from Rauros to Mount
Doom. (Those locations should sound familiar to “Lord of the Rings” fans.) The
hobbits averaged 18 miles a day, but if you walk (or jog, as I sometimes do)
five miles a day, it’s possible to cover 1,799 miles in a year.

In the end, check back next Friday for another update and
to see how much closer I am to Mordor. I hope to knock out another five miles
tomorrow and five more on Sunday, but I’ll include all that in my update next
week.

It’s the last Friday of the month, so this week I’m giving
you an update on UFO reports in Alabama from the previous month, courtesy of
the Mutual UFO Network.

A search for UFO reports in Alabama between Dec. 1 and Dec.
31 on MUFON’s website, www.mufon.com, resulted in four reports from within our
state during that time.

The first incident occurred around 7 p.m. on Thurs., Dec. 4,
over the waters of Mobile Bay. The witness in this case was a woman sitting on
her back deck in Fairhope who said she saw a reddish orange orb appear over the
bay. She called her husband’s attention to the ball of light, and they watched
as a second orb appeared beside the first.

A third orb appeared beside the first two, and they remained
in the same spot for about two minutes before all three merged together.
Shortly thereafter, the orb disappeared. The witness noted that she is an
amateur astronomer, accustomed to watching the night sky, and it was her
opinion that the orbs weren’t flares, aircraft or meteors.

The second incident took place on the night of Sat., Dec. 6,
in Mobile. The witness in this case was a security guard who works 12-hour
shifts and makes his rounds about every two hours. During his first round of
the night, about 30 minutes into his shift, he spotted an object that he
described as a “bright, white light” in the sky.

The object emitted no sound and didn’t have navigational
lights like an aircraft. The object was also “hovering at a slower pace that
airplanes fly,” the witness reported. The security guard attempted to use his
cellphone to film the object, but as soon as he got in a good position beyond
some nearby trees, the object vanished, the witness said.

The third incident took place around midnight on Fri., Dec.
12, near Gadsden in Etowah County. The witness in this case offered few details
other than to say that he was driving home from work when he first saw what he
described as a UFO. “When I first saw it, I was thinking that it was a plane,
but it had no sound,” the witness reported.

The fourth incident occurred around 3:30 a.m. on Sat., Dec.
27, near Pell City in St. Clair County. The witness in this case was traveling
on Interstate Highway 20 from Powder Springs, Ga. to New Orleans when he
spotted something strange between Lincoln and Pell City. The witness said that
he saw a “bright flash of silvery-white light” to the southwest about 15 miles
away and close to the ground on the horizon.

Immediately after seeing this bright flash of light, “the
entire night sky illuminated a bright, fluorescent blue” for three to four
seconds, the witness said. This unusual light seemed to “have been projected
from the ground up,” and it was “so bright that the night sky appeared as day.”
After about four seconds, the light pulsed and disappeared as the night sky
returned to black.

Even more strange, the witness reported hearing no sound
during this event. Even stranger, the witness said he was using his cellphone
to play music through his car radio and moments before the strange light
appeared, his phone lost signal, which caused his radio to cut out. A few
seconds after the event, the radio began playing again.

Before closing out this week, I just want to put it out
there again that I would be very interested to hear from anyone who have
witnessed a UFO, especially in Conecuh County. I think a lot of other people
would be interested in hearing your story too, and I’m willing to accept your
report anonymously. You can contact me by e-mail at courantsports@earthlink.net
or by phone at 578-1492.

Jan. 30, 1776 - The Continental Congress directed that no
apprentices be enlisted for military service without the written consent of
their master or mistress.

Jan. 30, 1780 - Alabama's third governor, Israel Pickens,
was born in North Carolina. The former U.S. Congressman moved to St. Stephens, in
the Mississippi Territory, in the spring of 1817 to take a job as a register of
the land office for Washington County. Wasting no time in establishing himself
in his new home, Pickens purchased almost 3,500 acres in southwest Alabama in
less than a year and became the first president of the Tombigbee Bank of St.
Stephens. He served as Alabama's governor from 1821 to 1825.

Jan. 30, 1781 - Maryland became the 13th and final state to ratify the Articles
of Confederation, almost three years after the official deadline given by
Congress of March 10, 1778.

Jan. 30, 1816 - Union General Nathaniel Banks was born in
Waltham, Mass.

Jan. 30, 1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a
President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempted to shoot president
Andrew Jackson, but failed and was subdued by a crowd, including several
congressmen.

Jan. 30, 1862 - The U.S. Navy's first ironclad warship, the
"Monitor", was launched into New York's East River. The vessel was
commissioned on Feb. 25.

Jan. 30, 1882 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in Hyde
Park, N.Y. He served as the thirty-second president of the United States from
1933-1945. He was the first president to serve more than two terms.

Jan. 30, 1885 – W.B. Green Sr. died at Burnt Corn, Ala. at the age
of 89. A veteran of the Seminole War of 1836, he moved to Monroe County in
1838.

Jan. 30, 1908 – The Conecuh Record reported that the Baptist
Church of Evergreen, Ala. planned to hold opening services in its “new building.”
Construction of the building began 2-1/2 years before this event and had just
reached completion.

Jan. 30, 1933 – Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of
Germany.

Jan. 30, 1949 – Escaped Russian minister, the Rev. Robert
Tarzier, Field Secretary of the Russian Bible Society in Washington, D.C. spoke
at the Evergreen Baptist Church. “Tarzier escaped from the Soviet secret police
a little over four years ago. At that time, he was pastor of one of the largest
Baptist churches – the well known church in Riga, Latavia.”

Jan. 30, 1950 – Ollie Finklea retired at the age of 70 from
his duties as Buena Vista, Ala.’s postmaster, a position he assumed after his
father’s retirement on June 3, 1910.

Jan. 30, 1950 – Lola B. Harwell, a fifth and sixth-grade
teacher at Georgiana Elementary School, died unexpectedly on this morning in
her classroom, where she had just returned from a movie that was shown to her
students. Harwell had been a teacher since September 1906 and had never once
been absent or tardy since taking her first job at Ebeneza in Butler County.
She also taught in Conecuh County and was principal at Avant in Butler County
before going to Georgiana.

Jan. 30, 1950 – For the second straight year, the
strawberry season in Castleberry, Ala. began several weeks ahead of schedule as
several growers on this day brought in crates of strawberries. Lonnie Beasley
of Hamden Ridge arrived in Castleberry with the first crate of the 1950 crop,
and those berries were sold to local buyer, R.T. Holland. Normally, the
strawberry season ran from March 15 to April 1.

Jan. 30, 1951 – Army Cpl. Oland H. Kirkland of Escambia County,
Ala. was killed in action in Korea.

Jan. 30, 1956 - With the Montgomery Bus Boycott about to
enter its third month, segregationists bombed the home of boycott spokesman
Martin Luther King Jr. The home sustained moderate damage, but no one was injured.
The young minister addressed the large crowd that gathered after the blast,
declaring, "I want it to be known the length and breadth of this land that
if I am stopped this movement will not stop."

Jan. 30, 1965 – Isaiah Mims, 31, of Owassa was killed instantly
when his car was hit by an L&N train on this afternoon at the main railroad
crossing at Owassa, Ala. State Trooper Pitchford investigated the accident and
said that Mims “evidently heard the train approaching too late to bring his
1957 Ford to a stop and skidded to rest on the tracks in the path of the
oncoming train.”

Jan. 30, 1966 - Alabama experienced its coldest ever
recorded temperature of -27°F at New Market in Madison County. The average low
temperature during January for nearby Huntsville is around 29°.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Arguably the biggest sporting event of the year (except for
the Iron Bowl, of course), is set for this coming Sunday when the New England
Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Az.

This year’s Super Bowl will be played at University of
Phoenix Stadium, and coverage of the game is set to start at 5:30 p.m. on NBC.
As you might have imagined about the two top teams in the NFL this year, both
teams feature a number of players with Alabama connections.

The Super Bowl player with the strongest connection to the
state is Seattle quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who is not only from Alabama,
but also played his college ball within the state. Jackson, age 31, is a native
of Montgomery and graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in 2001. Many of you
will remember that, Jackson, who is 6-foot-2 and tips the scales at 225 pounds,
played quarterback at Alabama State and was later drafted by the Minnesota
Vikings. Since then, he’s played in the NFL for nine years, and if you get to
looking for him on Sunday, he wears jersey No. 7.

Other Seattle players with Alabama ties include offensive
guard James Carpenter, wide receiver Kevin Norwood and defensive tackle Jesse
Williams. Carpenter, who wears jersey No. 77, played his college ball at
Alabama and has played in the NFL for four seasons. Carpenter, 25, grew up in
Augusta, Ga. and is listed as 6-5, 321 pounds.

Norwood, who wears jersey No. 81, also played college
football at Alabama and this is his rookie season in the NFL. Norwood, 25, grew
up in D’Iberville, Miss. and is listed as 6-2, 199 pounds.

Williams, who wears jersey No. 90, also played college
football at Alabama and this is his second season in the NFL. Williams, 24, is
a native of Brisbane, Australia and is listed as 6-3, 325 pounds.

The New England Patriots have two players with ties to
Alabama, rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler and third-year linebacker Dont'a
Hightower. Butler, who wears jersey No. 21, played college football at the
University of West Alabama in Livingston. Butler, 24, is a native of Vicksburg,
Miss. and is listed as 5-11, 190 pounds.

Hightower, who wears jersey No. 54, played college ball at
the University of Alabama, where he starred on some of Nick Saban’s best teams.
Hightower, 24, grew up in Lewisburg, Tenn. and is listed as 6-3, 270 pounds.

As of Monday morning, New England was a one-point favorite
over the Seahawks, and I honestly think this game is a toss up. On paper, New
England has the better offense, but Seattle seems to have the stronger defense.
It’s been said that defense wins championships, but instead of picking Seattle
to win, I’m going to go with my gut and predict that New England will win. This
isn’t Bill Belichick or Tom Brady’s first rodeo, and I look for the Patriots to
edge out Seattle, 31-25.

Jan. 29, 1737 – American Revolutionary figure Thomas Paine
was born in Thetford, Norfolk, Great Britain. He
would publish his most influential work, a pamphlet called “Common Sense,” in
1776.

Jan. 29, 1777 - Facing a surprise British counter-assault in
the bitter cold and with a snowstorm approaching, American commander Major
General William Heath and his army of 6,000 abandoned their siege on Fort
Independence, in Bronx County, New York.

Jan. 29, 1777 - General George Washington put Major General
Israel Putnam in command of all Patriot troops in New York. Putnam was charged
with the defense of the city and its water routes.

Jan. 29, 1820 - Britain's King George III died insane at
Windsor Castle.

Jan. 29, 1843 – The 25th President of the United States,
William McKinley, was born in Niles, Ohio.

Jan. 29, 1845 – Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, "The
Raven" was published for the first time in the New York Evening Mirror and
became a popular sensation. Though it made Poe a household name almost
instantly, he was paid only $9 for its publication.

Jan. 29, 1858 – Jasper N. Dennard became postmaster at Burnt
Corn.

Jan. 29, 1861 - Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free
state. It was the 34th state to enter the Union. The struggle between pro- and
anti-slave forces in Kansas was a major factor in the eruption of the Civil
War.

Jan. 29, 1863 - General Ulysses S. Grant was placed in
command of the Army of the West and was given orders to capture Vicksburg,
Miss.

Jan. 24, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes occurred
near Cobb’s Mill and near the Tennessee River in North Alabama.

Jan. 29, 1900 – The American League was organized in
Philadelphia with eight founding teams.

Jan. 29, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. James Scales
of Jackson, Ala. “died from disease.”

Jan. 29, 1936 - The first members of Major league baseball's
Hall of Fame were named in Cooperstown, NY. The group included Ty Cobb, Babe
Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson.

Jan. 29, 1948 – A British South American Tudor IV
four-engine passenger plane called the “Star Tiger,” flying from the Azores to
Bermuda, disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle with a crew of six and 25
passengers.

Jan. 29, 1959 – The Evergreen Chamber of Commerce held its
annual meeting and election of officers at the Evergreen High School lunchroom.
Guest speaker was Dr. George R. Stewart of Birmingham, a former
Birmingham-Southern College president, who worked for Alabama Power.

Jan. 29, 1980 – The Cobb House in Grove Hill, Ala. was added
to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Jan. 29, 1980 – The Old Fort Dale Site, the Fort Dale
Cemetery, the Old Log Barn and Oak Grove Methodist Church, all located in the
Greenville, Ala. vicinity, were added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and
Heritage.

Jan. 29, 1995 - The San Francisco 49ers became the first
team in National Football League history to win five Super Bowl titles. The
49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers, 49-26, in Super Bowl XXIX. San Francisco
quarterback Steve Young threw six touchdown passes in the game.

Jan. 29, 1998 - A bomb exploded at an abortion clinic in Birmingham,
Ala., killing an off-duty policeman and severely wounding a nurse. Serial
bomber Eric Rudolph was charged with this bombing and three other attacks in
Atlanta.

Jan. 29, 2002 – In his State of the Union address, President
George W. Bush described "regimes that sponsor terror" as an “Axis of
evil,” in which he included Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

Jan. 29, 2004 - Major League Baseball owners approved the
$430 million sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers from News Corp. to Frank McCourt.

“Warriors slam dunk Sumter by
15 points: Sparta Academy’s varsity boys basketball team improved to 7-16
overall and to 6-6 in region play Friday night with a 48-33 win over region
rival, Sumter Academy, in Evergreen.

“Mason Black led Sparta with
15 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block. Nicholas Hardin followed with
nine points, two rebounds and two assists. Devlin Crosby finished the game with
eight points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists.”

“Monroe’s big, tall and
undefeated Vols speared Sparta Academy’s Warriors, 62-44, Saturday night to win
the championship in the boys division of the Sparta Academy Invitational Tournament
held here at the school gymnatorium Friday and Saturday.

“Aggies Trounce Whippets
51-35 In Frisco City: The Evergreen High Aggies went on a scoring binge Tuesday
night in Frisco City and recorded their highest total of the season, cracking
the Whippets, 51-35. Coach Wendell Hart’s cagers played by far their best
offensive ball of the season.

“John Greel Ralls, playing
his second game at the pivot post, continued to show improvement. Time after
time the speedy Ralls faked off the Whippet defenders and drove into the basket
for layups. Ralls sacked 10 points in the first half. Playing a few minutes of
the third period he grabbed another basket and returned in the final three
minutes for two more buckets. His total for the night was 16.”

“The Evergreen Aggies were
handed their fourth loss of the current cage campaign by the UMS Cadets in
Mobile last Wednesday night. The Cadets took an early lead that the Aggies
could never overcome to win, 33-27.

“The Aggies of Evergreen High
bounced back into the win column here Friday night, trimming the Georgiana
Panthers, 47-38. It was the sixth win of the season for Coach Wendell Hart’s
cagers, and they have lost four.

“Gwyn Daniels showed up well
in his first appearance with the varsity. He was promoted Thursday from the ‘B’
squad when it was learned that Jack Cunningham was lost for the rest of the
season.”

Jan. 28, 1841 - Sir Henry Morton Stanley was born in Denbigh, Wales, UK. He went on to become a journalist
and explorer famous for his exploration of central Africa and his search for
missionary and explorer David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley
allegedly asked, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

Jan. 28, 1846 - Montgomery was selected as the capital of
Alabama by the state legislature on the 16th ballot. Montgomery won the final
vote largely because of promises of Montgomery city leaders to provide $75,000
for a new capitol and because of the emerging prominence of the Black Belt
region of the state.

Jan. 28, 1862 - The tenth president of the United States,
John Tyler, passed away at the age of 71 in Richmond, Va.

Jan. 28, 1904 - The University of Chicago awarded blankets with the letter “C”
to all seniors that played football during the 1903 season. This event marked
the beginning of the sports letter tradition.

Jan. 28, 1915 – The Monroe Journal reported that the contract for the
construction of a railroad bridge across the Alabama River near Pine Hill had
been awarded to the American Bridge Co. by the Gulf, Florida and Alabama
Railroad.

Jan. 28, 1915 - The Coast Guard was created by an act of the U.S. Congress
to fight contraband trade and aid distressed vessels at sea.

Jan. 28, 1920 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “The Terrible Old
Man,” which was originally published in Issue No. 4 of The Tryout, 7 in July
1821.

Jan. 28, 1922 - The National Football League franchise in
Decatur, Ill. transferred to Chicago. The team took the name Chicago Bears.

Jan. 28, 1938 - German race car driver Bernd Rosemeyer,
known as the “Silver Comet,” reached the speed of 268 mph on the Autobahn, just
before his death.

Jan. 28, 1949 – Evergreen High School’s varsity boys
basketball team improved to 6-4 on the season by beating Georgiana, 47-38, in
Evergreen.

Jan. 28, 1996 - Diana Ross performed as the featured
halftime performer at Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, AZ. The Dallas Cowboys beat the
Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17. It was the fifth Super Bowl for the Cowboys.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Prior to last Saturday, the only Senior Bowl I’d ever been
to in person was the 1995 Senior Bowl. I went with my friend Eric Byrd from
Goodway, Ala., and we saw such football greats as Steve McNair, Derrick Brooks,
Jay Barker, Dan Reeves and Ted Marchibroda. I’ve come close to going back
several times since then, but lately I’ve really wanted to back now that my kids are
old enough to enjoy and appreciate the experience.

I officially put “Take my kids to the Senior Bowl in Mobile”
on my “bucket list” a couple of years ago after a conversation with Evergreen,
Ala. postal carrier Charles Roache. Charles told me that he and his son – standout
Conecuh County athlete, Keyshawn Roache – had a longstanding tradition of going
to the Senior Bowl together every year. The way Charles talked about it, this
tradition sounded pretty cool, and I wanted to be sure that my kids got at
least a taste of what the Senior Bowl is all about.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Senior Bowl, it’s a
post-season college football all-star game played in Mobile, Ala. that features two teams, the South and the North. Both teams are coached by the coaching
staffs of two NFL teams, and the game typically features a number of outstanding NFL draft prospects. It’s a sure bet that if you’re watching the
Senior Bowl, you’re also watching more than a few future NFL Hall of Famers.

This year’s Senior Bowl was the 66th Annual Senior Bowl, and
it was played Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, where the game has
been played every year since 1951, when it moved to Mobile after one year in
Jacksonville, Fla. The game kicked off at 3 p.m. and the North ended up
winning, 34-14. Total attendance was 36,471, and the game ended at 6:15 p.m.

Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah was named the game’s
MVP. Utah outside linebacker Nate Orchard was named the North team’s Most
Outstanding Player, and Florida State offensive guard Tre’ Jackson was the
South team’s Most Outstanding Player. Tennessee Titans head coach Ken
Whisenhunt was the head coach for the South team, and Jacksonville Jaguars head
coach Gus Bradley was the head coach for the North. The game was televised on
the NFL Network.

My wife and kids seemed to have a good time on Saturday, and
this was helped by liberal amounts of soft drinks, nachos and cheese and French
fries. (I scored a beer and a $5 program.) Past Senior Bowls became known for
bad weather, and the worst part about last Saturday was the cold weather. It was sunny
and 57 degrees at kickoff, but those of in the shade and facing the 17-mph
north wind had a tough time. Next year, we’ll be sitting on the east side of
the stadium or in the north end zone.

In the end, how many of you have ever been to the Senior
Bowl? How many have you been to in all? What big stars to you remember seeing
before they hit the big time in the NFL? Let us know in the comments section
below.

Several years ago, the Alabama Tourism Department came out
with a great “best of” list called “100 Dishes To Eat in Alabama Before You
Die,” and that list included the famous hot dogs at the Dew Drop Inn in Mobile,
Ala. I’ve had the Dew Drop Inn on my “bucket list” ever since, and I finally
got to scratch it off my list last Thursday morning.

I’d been by the Dew Drop Inn several times in the past with
plans to stop, but as chance would have it, the restaurant was closed when I
went by in the past, but this wasn’t the case last Thursday morning. My wife
and I happened to be in Mobile, and we were more than a little pleased to see
the Dew Drop Inn open for business at 11:15 a.m.

Even though I had hot dogs on my mind, I didn’t fail to
notice the hanging sign outside the building that says that the Dew Drop Inn is
Mobile’s oldest restaurant. Before I get to the hot dogs, here’s what the back
of the menu had to say about the restaurant’s interesting history – “THE DEW
DROP INN STORY: The Dew Drop Inn has been a Mobile institution since 1924, when
George L. Widney opened a little sandwich shop at 156 South Ann St. near
Government Street. Legend has it that Widney’s restaurant offered the city its
first taste of a revolutionary new sandwich called the hot dog. Widney was pronounced
HOT DOG KING in a 1939 Mobile Press Register article.

“About 1930, Mr. George opened another location on Old Shell
Road across from Old Shell Elementary School. A year later, he sold the
restaurant to Arthur Reid, who relocated in 1937 to its present location
further away from the school in order to get a beer license. Curb boy Jimmy
Edgar was recruited to be Reid’s business partner.

“After Reid died in 1966, Edgar purchased the Dew Drop Inn
in 1967 and remodeled it. (The remodeling job was so successful that it hasn’t
been updated since.) Shortly thereafter, Edgar decided to sell his business to
George Hamlin. Edgar’s advice? “Don’t change nothing. You don’t change the
dining room or the help. Don’t change the hot dog or nothin’.” And Hamlin didn’t.

“The Dew Drop is a constant in a changing world, where you
can almost count on a crowd, on seeing someone you know, and being served
consistently good food. Among the Dew Drop’s many fans is Jimmy Buffett, who
grew up in Mobile. He writes in his ParrotHead Handbook that his “burger lust
was formulated” at the restaurant, which he lists among the country’s best
cheeseburgers. So drop in anytime and experience a delicious taste of Mobile
history as you enjoy our southern style home cooking, prepared from recipes
that have been tried and true for 90 some odd years.”

Two "World Famous" Dew Drop Inn Hot Dogs.

The Dew Drop Inn has a long menu with a wide selection of
items, but I was focused on the restaurant’s specialty, the “World Famous Dew
Drop Inn Hot Dog.” At $2.95 each, these hot dogs feature homemade chili,
sauerkraut, mustard, ketchup and a pickle slice. I ordered two of them with a
side of onion rings and a Pepsi. To say that this was probably the best two
hot dogs I’ve ever eaten would be an understatement. You’ll just have to try
them for yourself to see what I mean.

If you’re interested in trying some of these great hot dogs
for yourself, visit the Dew Drop Inn at 1808 Old Shell Road in Mobile. The
restaurant is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Monday
through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. They’re closed most holidays and the
Fourth of July. If you want to call in an order, their number is 251-473-7872.

In the end, how many of you have ever eaten at the Dew Drop
Inn in Mobile? Did you try the hot dogs? What did you think about the
experience? What other bucket list-worthy restaurants and foods would you
recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.

Jan. 27, 1785 - The Georgia General Assembly incorporated
the University of Georgia, the first state-funded institution of higher learning
in the new republic.

Jan. 27, 1814 – During the Creek War, Capt. Samuel Butts was
killed at the Battle of Calebee Creek in Macon County, Ala., 50 miles west of
Fort Mitchell. Buttsville, Ala. (present day Greenville) was later named in his
honor.

Jan. 27, 1825 – The U.S. Congress approved the “Indian
Territory” (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced
relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears".

Jan. 27, 1832 – English author Lewis Carroll was born in
Daresbury, Cheshire, England. His most famous writings are “Alice's Adventures
in Wonderland” and its sequel “Through the Looking-Glass.”

Jan. 27, 1840 - The Alabama legislature passed a joint
resolution accepting the disputed boundary line with Georgia. In recognizing
the line marked by a Georgia commission in 1826, the legislature stated that “a
fixed and known line between this State and Georgia, is of far higher
consequence to us, than the acquisition of an inconsiderable portion of
territory.”

Jan. 27, 1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued
General War Order No. 1, which ordered all Union land and sea forces to advance
on Feb. 22, 1862.

Jan. 27, 1865 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at
Elrod's Tan Yard in De Kalb County, Ala.

Jan. 27, 1888 - The National Geographic Society was founded
in Washington, D.C. for "the increase and diffusion of geographical
knowledge." Nine months after its inception, the Society published its
first issue of National Geographic magazine.

Jan. 27, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Prof.
C.C. Smith of Healing Springs had been elected superintendent of the Orphans
Home in Evergreen, succeeding M.C. Reynolds, who had resigned to move to
Birmingham. Smith was expected to reach Evergreen the following week with his
family.

Jan. 27, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Charles
Savage Jr. was “painfully injured several days ago by being caught in some part
of the machinery at the oil mill.”

Jan. 27, 1927 - United Independent Broadcasters Inc. started
a radio network with contracts with 16 stations. The company later became
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS).

Jan. 27, 1944 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Staff
Sgt. Meldon R. Holland, 26, of Castleberry had been awarded the Purple Heart.
Holland, a mechanic, was injured by shrapnel in the spring of 1943 during a
Japanese bombing raid in New Guinea.

Jan. 27, 1949 – Evergreen Postmaster Mary Cunningham
announced that the Evergreen Post Office would be painted inside and out in the
“very near future.” The Evergreen Post Office was one of the few in the state
to be approved for this type of work.

Jan. 27, 1958 - Little Richard entered Oakwood College in
Huntsville, Ala. This was after he announced that he was giving up Rock &
Roll so he could serve God.

Jan. 27, 1959 – Members of the Dyatlov expedition departed
Vizhai, the last inhabited settlement so far north, on their way to Otorten, a
mountain 6.2 miles north of the site of the Dyatlov incident.

Jan. 27, 1959 – NFL wide receiver Cris Collinsworth was born
in Dayton, Ohio. He played college ball at Florida and his entire NFL career
with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jan. 27, 1994 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the
Conecuh County Commission had approved the recommendation of the Conecuh County
Emergency Medical Services, Inc., and had chosen City Ambulance, Inc. as the
contract holder for Conecuh County.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Weather reporter Harry Ellis
reported .05 inches of rain on Jan. 24. He also reported a high of 72 degrees
on Jan. 23 and lows of 19 degrees on Jan. 20 and Jan. 21.

“Brief filed in election
lawsuit: Another chapter in the ongoing lawsuit over Evergreen’s disputed
mayoral election unfolded this week as attorneys for Pete Wolff III filed a
legal brief in support of their side of the case.

“At the end of an evidentiary
hearing on Dec. 23 in Evergreen, Judge Edward McDermott, a retired Mobile judge
who was appointed to hear the case, gave Wolff’s attorney, James H. Anderson of
Montgomery, a timeline to file his position on a number of legal points in the
case. Wolff ran for mayor against incumbent Larry Fluker only to lose by two
votes in the Oct. 7 runoff election.

“Fluker’s attorney, Edward
Still of Birmingham, will have a given number of days to respond to Anderson’s
brief, which was filed with the Conecuh County Circuit Court on Tuesday of last
week. Anderson will then have until Feb. 9 to file any reply he might have to
Still’s response.

“Anderson’s brief, a six-page
document, makes the argument that the outcome of past lawsuits and state law
support Wolff’s side of the case.”

“Mary Mims named EMC’s 2008
Employee of the Year: Mary Mims of Evergreen received the 2008 Billy G.
McKenzie Employee of the Year award during a ceremony last Thursday afternoon
at the hospital in Evergreen.

21 YEARS AGO

JAN. 27, 1994

“Members of the Evergreen City
Council and Conecuh County Probate Judge Rogene Booker are pictured with newly
appointed Evergreen Police Chief Thomas Booker moments after he was
administered the oath of office by the probate judge Tues., Jan. 18. Pictured
are council members Larry Fluker, Jerry Caylor, Elizabeth Stevens, James King,
Phyllis Brock, Chief Booker, Mayor Lomax Cassady and Judge Booker.”

Weather reporter Harry Ellis
reported 1.11 inches of rain on Jan. 17 and a trace of rain on Jan. 23. He also
reported a high of 60 on Jan. 17 and lows of 16 on Jan. 18 and Jan. 19.

“Committee Picks City
Ambulance; Commissioners Approve Decision: The Conecuh County Commission has
approved the recommendation of the Conecuh County Emergency Medical Services,
Inc., and chosen City Ambulance, Inc. as the contract holder for Conecuh
County. The vote was taken during a special meeting of the commission last
week.”

“The Conecuh County
Commission and election officers in Conecuh County met Monday afternoon to
discuss possible solutions to potential problems brought about by the new House
of Representative and State Senate division lines which split the county. The
problem at hand is that the court-approved lines do not follow the current
district and voting precinct lines in the county.”

36 YEARS AGO

JAN. 25, 1979

Weather reporter Earl Windham
reported 1.87 inches of rain on Jan. 20 and .01 inches on Jan. 21. He reported
a high of 70 on Jan. 18 and a low of 19 on Jan. 15.

“John Coburn, 71, of
Evergreen died Sat., Jan. 20, in a local hospital after a long illness. A
lifetime resident of Conecuh County, Mr. Coburn was a member of a pioneer
family and was widely and favorably known.

“Mr. Coburn, a retired
contractor, was much loved and will be deeply missed by his family and many
friends. An excellent builder, he was associated with the group which built the
houses in the first subdivision in Evergreen. He was also the contractor for
many other lovely homes, churches and other buildings in Evergreen and this
area.”

“Commander Joe Patten
receives his new collar devices from Master Chief Joe Everheart after being
advanced to that rank by Commander Stu Langdon, commander of Air Wing Five.
Patten was promoted during ceremonies aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway on
which he is serving as the Air Wing Maintenance Officer. CDR Patten entered the
Navy shortly after graduating from Evergreen High School in 1954. He resides,
when not at sea, with his wife, Miyoka, and daughter, Elena, in Yokosuka,
Japan. Their other daughter, Lorena, lives in Phoenix, Az. Joe is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. E.E. Patten of Evergreen.”

“Nina and Lewie Wilson’s home
was totally destroyed by fire on Dec. 10”

51 YEARS AGO

JAN. 30, 1964

“Flxible Southern takes over
Southern Coach Saturday: Flxible Southern Company will begin operations here
Saturday. Culmination of the transaction in which the Flxible Co. of
Loudonville, Ohio purchased the assets of Southern Coach & Body Co. is
being completed in Cleveland, Ohio.

“Flxible Southern Co., a
subsidiary of the Flxible Company, takes over as of Feb. 1 in a historic moment
for Evergreen and Conecuh County.

“O.B. Tuggle, vice president
of Flxible Southern Co., in a letter to employees is offering employment to all
present employees of Southern Coach & Body co. Tuggle lived here for a
number of years when he was president of Southern Coach Manufacturing Co. He
has been with Flxible since leaving here.”

“Crewmembers toured the
2,000-year-old city of Palma on the island known as the ‘Pearl of the
Mediterranean.’ The crew is scheduled to visit several more ports of call
throughout the Mediterranean as the carrier operates with the Sixth Fleet.”

“Pink Ladies Will Organize
Tuesday Night: A woman’s auxiliary for the Conecuh County Hospital is to be
organized in a meeting Tuesday night, Feb. 4, at seven o’clock in the Civic
Room of the Conecuh County Courthouse.”

“The mayor died at his home
yesterday of a heart attack. He had been ill since Saturday.

“Fountain was elected mayor
last September without opposition in his first bid for public office.”

“Miss Mary Cunningham,
Evergreen Postmaster, revealed early this week that the Evergreen Post Office
Building is to be painted both inside and out in the very near future. The
Evergreen Post Office was one of the few in the state to be approved for this
work.”

“Escaped Russian Minster To
Speak Here Sunday: Rev. Robert Tarzier, Field Secretary of the Russian Bible
Society, Washington, D.C., will speak at the regular morning hour of the
Evergreen Baptist Church Sun., Jan. 30. Rev. Tarzier escaped from the Soviet
secret police a little over four years ago. At that time, he was pastor of one
of the largest Baptist churches – the well known church in Riga, Latavia.

“Rev. Tarzier is a reformed
Communist. Under the influence of atheist teachers at the outbreak of the first
World War, he lost sight of God and became a hardened infidel communist. But,
shortly after the outbreak of the Revolution, the cruelty and suffering brought
by the communists plus the fact that the communist government sentenced and
executed his father, a poor evangelical preacher, turned him back to God. Since
that time, he has become a zealous evangelist.”